Two Turkish F-16 jets harassed by Syrian missile batteries

Two Turkish F-16 jets harassed by Syrian missile batteries

Two Turkish F-16 jets were put on missile lock while carrying out a sortie in the southern province of Hatay which borders Syria.

A Turkish general stated on 2nd January that:

“Missile batteries deployed in Syria have harassed two F-16 planes performing an air patrol duty by putting them under a radar-lock and [renewing] it eight times for a total of five minutes and 10 seconds.”

The Turkish jets were deployed to the border area after a Syrian military aircraft approached Turkish airspace, the statement said. It added that the Syrian SU-24 changed its route to the opposite direction at five nautical miles from Turkish airspace.

A radar lock is considered a hostile act as it interferes with a plane’s navigational systems by indicating that a missile is ready to be fired at it.

Two years ago in June, 2012, Syria created an international furore when it downed an unarmed Turkish F-4 jet that was flying over the Mediterranean Sea on a reconnaissance mission. The plane wreckage containing the bodies of the two crew was recovered two weeks later.

More recently, Turkey shot down a Syrian helicopter on 16th September, 2013, declaring that it had violated Turkish airspace by two kilometres.